Dixon win opener in bolstered series

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Scott Dixon took the lead after Tony Kanaan crashed and went on to win the first race a new

HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- Scott Dixon took the lead after Tony Kanaan crashed and went on to win the first race a new

era of U.S. open-wheel racing.

Dixon, who lost the IndyCar Series championship when he ran out of fuel on the last lap of the 2007 season, got off to a great start last night in the Gainsco Indy 300 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

Kanaan came out of the last round of green-flag pit stops in the lead and appeared well on the way to a win until Ernesto Viso, a rookie driving for one of the former Champ Car World Series teams that just joined the Indy Racing League, spun on the 193rd of 200 laps.

As Viso slid across the track, Kanaan tried to duck around him but hit him with the right front of his Dallara Honda, knocking a tire askew.

Kanaan stayed out front for several laps behind the pace car but ducked into the pits as the green flag waved on lap 197, giving up the lead to Dixon, who won for the second time on the Homestead oval.

"We were catching (Kanaan) quick -- that was the best part about it," Dixon said. "It would have been close at the end."

Marco Andretti finished second, followed by Dan Wheldon -- who had won the past three Homestead races -- and Helio Castroneves.

Ed Carpenter finished a lap off the pace in fifth, followed by Danica Patrick.

Ryan Hunter-Reay, who started ninth for the Hilliard-based team Rahal Letterman Racing, finished seventh. Still, it was just the fourth race on an oval in the IRL for Hunter-Reay, who took over for Jeff Simmons with six events left last year.

Hunter-Reay has finished seventh or better in three of those oval races.

Of the eight former Champ Car entries, Oriol Servia was the top finisher in 12th.

Dispatch reporter Tim May contributed to the story.

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